Keeping membership of the European Union's single market could add almost two year's worth of growth to Britain's economy, according to a report.

A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) claims that membership of the single market could be worth a potential 4% of extra gross domestic product (GDP) to the UK compared with World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership alone.

The think-tank said the boost to the country's trade, public finances, growth and living standards far outweigh the costs of single market membership across Europe.

THERESA MAY AND VLADIMIR PUTIN AGREE TO IMPROVE RELATIONS - KREMLIN

Theresa May has spoken to Russian president Vladimir Putin for the first time since she became Prime Minister.

The Kremlin said both leaders expressed dissatisfaction with UK-Russian relations and pledged to improve ties.

The UK's relationship with Russia became increasingly strained under former prime minister David Cameron, following Mr Putin's support for the Syrian regime, the Ukraine crisis, and the recent inquiry in to the 2006 poisoning death of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko.

RUSSIA CAN OUTGUN OUR TROOPS - ARMY

The Russian army can outgun British troops on the battlefield, a leaked report suggests, following military advances by the Kremlin.

The assessment by the British Army's warfare branch, seen by The Times newspaper, warned that Russian weapons, including rocket launchers and air defence systems, are more powerful than their British equivalents.

The report added that UK and its Nato allies are "scrambling to catch up" with Russia's ability to use electronic means to hijack enemy drones and disrupt other military transmissions.

DUKE OF WESTMINSTER DIES AFTER SUDDEN ILLNESS

Billionaire landowner the Duke of Westminster has died at 64.

Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, a close friend of the Royal Family, died on Tuesday afternoon, having suddenly become ill.

He had been transferred from his Abbeystead Estate to the Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire.

WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT 'SHAMEFUL' LEVEL, SAYS TUC

The level of sexual harassment in the workplace is "shameful", with women being subjected to unwelcome jokes, verbal advances, suggestive remarks and even demands for sexual favours, says a report.

The TUC said its study showed that the problem was worse for younger women, with almost two-thirds of 18 to 24-year-olds saying they have suffered sexual harassment at work.

A survey of 1,500 women found that a third had been subjected to unwelcome jokes, while one in four received sex-related comments about their body or clothes.

POKEMON GO CAN BOOST HEALTH BY MAKING PLAYERS EXERCISE - DOCTOR

Pokemon Go has a "tantalising side-effect" of increased exercise for players, according to an article in a leading medical journal.

The game is not marketed as a health app but gamers do a lot of walking during play, the editorial in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) states.

The popular app has made the streets of Britain a "reclaimed playground in which to have interconnected fun", wrote the author, Dr Margaret McCartney.

The minimum recommended amount of exercise should be increased, researchers have said after a study found that more exercise can drastically lower a person's risk of five serious diseases.

Exceeding the current recommended minimum levels of exercise each week can significantly reduce the risk of breast and bowel cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke, experts found.

At present, the World Health Organisation recommends that people conduct at least "600 metabolic equivalent minutes (MET minutes)" of physical activity - the equivalent of 150 minutes each week of brisk walking or 75 minutes per week of running.

WOMAN'S KIDNEY IS 100 YEARS OLD FOLLOWING DONATION FROM MOTHER IN 1973

A woman with a 100-year-old kidney she received from her mother in the 1970s is thought to have the world's oldest successfully transplanted kidney.

Sue Westhead received the swap in 1973 when her mother Ann Metcalfe was 57. Now, 43 years on, it is still going strong.

Doctors usually estimate a transplant from a living donor will last 20 years at most.

EMERGENCY DOCTOR SHORTAGE LEADING TO CRISIS IN A&E, MEDICS WARN

A widening gap between supply and demand for emergency doctors is leading to a crisis in A&E departments across the country, leading medics have warned.

The comments from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine come as an A&E in the East Midlands announced it may have to temporarily close its doors at night due to a national shortage of emergency doctors.

Bosses at Grantham and District Hospital announced they was looking to reduce A&E hours because it was facing a "severe shortage of doctors".